Important Measures in March 2005
In line with the policy of promoting the liberalization, internationalization, and development of the foreign exchange market, the Central Bank of China (CBC) announced the following measures in March 2005:
1. For the convenience of foreign travelers wishing to exchange foreign currency in Taiwan and in line with the policy of developing the domestic tourism, the CBC amended “Regulations Governing the Establishment and Administration of Foreign Currency Exchange Office” on March 4, 2005.
2. In order to expand the network of buying and selling foreign currencies, to match the name change of “designated purpose trust fund” used in the Trust Enterprise Act, to clarify the outsourcing of back office operations and in response to the establishment of the “Large Transactions Information Foreign Exchange Data Online Transmitting System”, the CBC amended a number of articles of “Regulations Governing Foreign Exchange Business of Banking Enterprises” on March 9, 2005.
3.Approved Chinatrust Commercial Bank to operate Structured Deposits or structured products composed of NTD deposits or FCY deposits linked to FCY Hedge Fund Index Options or Swaps with principal protection or partial principal protection.
4. The following authorized banks began conducting foreign exchange derivatives business by notifying the CBC after the commencement of business for reference and filing:
(1)Taiwan Industrial Bank：structured products composed of NTD IRS, FCY IRS and FCY IRO.
(2)BNP Taipei：「TWD Callable Quanto Swaps 」composed of NTD IRS, FCY IRS , FCY IRO and FCY Swaption on IRS.
(3)The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Ltd.：Foreign Currency Structured Products composed of FCY Deposits and FCY Options.
5.Authorized 2 branches of 2 domestic banks to operate the foreign exchange business. In addition, 8 non-authorized foreign exchange banks were approved to sell/buy foreign currency banknotes and traveler’s checks. As of the end of March 2005, there were 1,108 authorized foreign exchange banks, including 1,042 domestic banks and 66 foreign banks.